Ease
by foggynite
Summary: Just two guys hanging out. (YuJean Yaoi)


Title: Ease  
Author: foggynite  
Fandom: Spriggan  
Type: yaoi  
Pairing: Yu/Jean  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: Just two guys hanging out.  
Disclaimer: Spriggan is property of Hiroshi Takashige·Ryoji Minagawa/Shogakukan·Bandai Visual·TBS·Toho I make no profit from this. I'm just playing in the sandbox...  
Notes: For the Tempus Morts "Life" challenge.

Yu comes back to his apartment after school, and the sense of things being out of place hits him before he finishes opening the door. There's a knife in an extra compartment on the bottom of his school bag. It's quickly at the throat of his smirking intruder. A second later, it's followed by his lips and the door is kicked shut behind them.

Jean never announces his visits. The French Spriggan just shows up, sometimes on his door step, sometimes in the lobby or the kitchen or his bed. There's a message in the randomness of the man's comings and goings, but each time Yu merely opens the door and lets him in. Mostly because he knows that his lack of concern irks Jean more than any questions, but also partly because he knows that Jean wouldn't be there if he didn't want to be. Wouldn't bother showing up if he didn't care.

True friends are hard to come by in their line of work. Lovers that understand their lives are even more rare.

There's golden sunlight filtering through the blinds when Yu wakes up the next morning. It's a day off from school, and he wonders if Jean planned it that way. He certainly appreciates not having to go to class on two hours of sleep. His grades are in enough danger as it is.

He slips from bed quietly, sparing a glance at Jean's pale skin tangled in his navy colored sheets. The other man didn't say how long he was staying this time, but there's an overstuffed duffel bag next to the closet, and Yu supposes that's all the answers he'll get. He shrugs and yawns, and pads softly into his small kitchen.

Arcam foots the bills for his residences as long as he stays in school between missions, and Yu considers it a fair trade. He's lived on the streets before and he's not eager to do it again. This apartment is modest compared to some of the others he's stayed in, but the neighbors aren't chatty and the building security is all Arcam.

Right now, he's just glad that he remembered to buy coffee last time he went to the market. Jean refuses to drink the instant Yu prefers, and the brown-haired agent smiles malevolently as he dumps a measure of beans into the grinder and turns it on. An irritated moan comes from the bedroom. Mission accomplished. He tosses two slices of bread into the toaster.

The smell of coffee pervades the apartment, and he's halfway through his morning warm-up when Jean stumbles into the kitchen wearing just his boxers. The blonde's torso is mottled with black and purple discolorations, but no stitches this time, so Yu isn't too concerned. Bruises are a given after a mission, not an exception.

They don't speak as Yu finishes his push-ups and starts on his crunches. Jean pours himself a cup of the good stuff and sips it idly, regarding Yu with half-closed eyes. He doesn't move when Yu stands up and comes into the kitchen, reaching around him for a mug.

"Group of guys from school are shooting hoops this morning." Yu says absently as he serves himself. Jean grunts in acknowledgment.

Ramming the toast slices into his mouth, Yu slips on his shoes. He never bothers showering before heading down to the basketball court, just pulls on shorts and a t-shirt. The guys don't care if he smells. He leaves Jean grumbling over his duffel bag in the bedroom and heads out to the court.

"Dude, what were you up to last night?" Hideo asks with a knowing expression, staring pointedly at Yu's neck while he lazily dribbles the ball back and forth. Tetsui snickers behind them, but Yu ignores them both, taking the opportunity to slap the ball from Hideo's easy grip and break off down the court.

One day, his schoolmates will learn the futility of asking him questions. Hideo is just a little slow sometimes.

By the end of the hour, the other two boys are panting heavily and Yu has a sheen of sweat over his skin. Not a bad work out, but he'll still have to hit the practice mats later. Maybe Jean will join him.

He stops by the market on his way back, picks up some lunch. Jean never eats breakfast. When he enters the apartment, the doors to his washer/dryer closet are open and the washer is going strong. Jean is stretched across the couch, gun pointed unwavering at Yu's head while the Japanese agent calmly toes off his shoes. Jean blinks for a moment, obviously awakening from a nap, before the gun disappears into the cushions once more. The blonde's pulled a pair of jeans on, but no shirt, and Yu wonders if his bruises are still that sensitive.

Stripping off his sweaty shirt, he tosses it at the laundry hamper as he walks past. His shorts follow it, and he wanders into the bathroom. The shower stall is dry, so he's not surprised when Jean slides in behind him.

The water runs cold by the time they're through. Yu wraps a towel around his waist and gets dressed while Jean shaves. The drawer Yu keeps empty for the other man is filled with precisely creased shirts and pants. Yu doesn't breathe deeply near Jean's coat hanging from the back of his bedroom door. Doesn't inhale the scent of his cologne. Doesn't linger.

They sprawl in front of the TV to watch a baseball game, but neither really pays any attention to it. Jean systematically cleans his weapons cache and Yu goes over files for his next mission. The remains of lunch are scattered between folders and gun parts.

A normal day off. Relaxing, easy. No life-or-death situations. No saving the world. Just two guys being lazy together. Yu maybe wants it to last longer than it will. But it won't, and he doesn't think he really wants it to. There's so much to do outside this little world, too much to ever be really done.

The smell of fabric softener has long since replaced the smell of coffee when Jean finishes with his guns and goes to wash his hands. Yu keeps reading as the French agent clatters around in the kitchen, preparing a light dinner of rice with leek and potato soup. They comment on Jean's latest mission over the meal, discuss briefly Yu's plummeting grades. He rolls his eyes at the blonde's admonishments and gets smirked at for his trouble.

Later that night, lying in bed, Yu doesn't roll over and curl around the other agent. He doesn't wind his hand in Jean's platinum hair and hold on. He never asks him to stay, or whispers that he loves him against all that pale skin. He never says a fraction of the words swimming in his mouth, behind his teeth.

He just lays staring at his sleeping friend until his own eyes are gritty, and even then, he finds it difficult to drop off. But Jean is there when he wakes up, arm locked around his chest, and that's all that really matters.


End file.
